American Blackout imagines the story of a massive power outage across the United States. Whether caused by a downed power line or a volcanic eruption, chances are you’ve weathered a blackout before too. Where were you? Were you prepared? And how did you survive? We want to hear your best blackout stories.

Any time where your power went out is fair game, whether a tree downed your neighborhood’s power lines or a natural disaster brought on a long-term blackout. So far, we’ve heard stories from Hurricane Sandy, the NYC blackout and more.

“In the ’70s, a hurricane hit Long Island New York. I remember all the downed power poles and debris everywhere. It was so hot outside and no power meant no relief. Local restaurants (with generators) hiked the prices for coffee and hot meals up to a crazy amount. The power was out for two weeks. My father hooked a handle to the flywheel of our well water pump and all of us children took turns cranking the pump so my mother could fill jugs and the bathtub with water. Not something I’m ever likely to forget.”

For Shannon J, her lights went out during one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in history:

In the 1980’s when Mount St. Helens erupted we didn’t think much of it because we were a hundred miles away. Then the weird quiet set in followed by ash. The sky was pitch black ash fell for days. We couldn’t drive our cars because they would plug. We couldn’t breathe without a mask. The air conditioners and heat pumps had problems running. Then the electricity went off. All we could do was sit in the house…nowhere to run…nowhere to breathe…store shelves empty. We had our camping equipment and extra water for a few days. The devastation when we could come back out was unbelievable.

Now it’s your turn – what are your memorable blackout stories? How would you survive a long-term power outage? And what can we do to prepare ourselves for when the lights go out? Share your stories with us here.

Check out the trailer for American Blackout and catch the premiere on Sunday, October 27 at 9P.

Comments

Ben Sr.

Vermont

October 24, 2013, 6:38 pm

Everyone I have spoken with who has watched the show, me included, believes many perper’s are a bit “out there” or have gone off on a tangent that is not in their best interest. We also believe many of the preper’s including those who are “out there” do have something to consider. That said, if it works for you use it.
Here’s something else. It seems to me that most episodes portray a single event like an earth quake or Huricane which everyone is preparing for. If you do the math on all possibilities including war, volcanic eruption, reactor melt down, riots, financial disaster, floods, pandemics, and the like the reason to prep makes much sense. Of course it makes sense to do the math for your area. Why include a Huricane if you live in Montana? Perhaps the writers should do an episode on the math for different regions.
A do enjoy watching the show and will continue to do so in the future.